Display Beautiful California Avocados…Before They Ripen!

If you’re like me, you have green, hard avocados in your kitchen. In fact, that is the only way to have a consistent supply of ready-to-eat avocados, since they do not begin to soften until they are picked from the tree. I keep them in a bowl on the counter or put a few in a paper bag to ripen more quickly… if you want to know more, read The Secret For Perfectly Ripened Avocados.

What to do with them while they’re softening? A beautiful bowl of fresh avocados is a lovely thing to behold….but during November, wouldn’t it be fun to incorporate these beauties into a Thanksgiving display?

I stopped by Rosemary-Duff Florist in Escondido, Ca. to ask about ways to display avocados with fall flowers and foliage. One of the owners, Mary Ann Santrach came up with two ideas to try. She made a simple arrangement to set on a tray, with avocados placed around the flowers. She used flowers and foliage that might be found in the garden or easily purchased at a farmers’ market, for those who want to do this at home. I brought her beautiful bouquet home with me, and placed it in the middle of the tray, surrounded by the fresh avocados. If you order avocados from California Avocados Direct, the wood excelsior comes in the box with the fresh fruit…a perfect addition to the display!

Add a simple floral arrangement to a cornucopia, and fill in the front of the display with fresh avocados.

Another idea that Mary Ann showed me was this cornucopia. She filled the back of the cornucopia with floral foam, and placed some small fall flowers and some longer foliage into the foam, leaving room for the fruit to be added. I used medium size California Hass avocados for this display, as the jumbo ones were too large for this cornucopia.

As you can probably tell, I’m excited about decorating with fresh California avocados, and can hardly wait to for the December holidays to try out more ideas! I’d love to see your avocado creations too. Please join me over on Facebook and share your Thanksgiving avocado arrangements! What flowers do you have in your garden that would make a beautiful centerpiece with avocados?